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Glossary of Sanskrit Terms

Ekadanda - a staff which is carried by the renunciates belonging to the monistic school and, in particular, the followers of Sri Sankaracarya. The staff consists of only one rod which symbolizes their goal of attaining oneness with nirvisesa-brahma.
Ekadasi - is the eleventh day of the waxing or waning moon. Suddha Ekadasi means that the whole eleventh day of the moon elapses during the period between one sunrise and the next. Viddha Ekadasi means that the eleventh day of the moon begins on one solar day (sunrise to sunrise) and finishes on the next solar day, that is after sunrise on the next day. In case of Viddha Ekadasi, the observances are made on the Dvadasi i.e. the twelfth day of the moon.

Folklore - (in reference to chapter seventeen), there is a saying: “To make money by counting the waves.” The explanation is as follows. In ancient times, there was a rich vaisya, who became famous all over the country as someone who could make money in any circumstances. Some envious people poisoned the ears of the local King, and managed to convince him to send the businessman far away, where he would have no opportunity to make any money. The King decided to send him to a lonely place near the sea. But this vaisya, true to his character, sat on the beach counting the waves! Whenever a vessel passed across the sea, he would stop it by waving his arms, and then say, “You are not allowed to cross. The King has appointed me to count the waves here, and your vessel is disturbing them.” He would argue back and forth, and only relent when he had extracted a bribe. In this way, he became a rich man again.

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Ganapatya - a worshiper of Ganesa.
Gandharvas - celestial beings situated in the higher planets who are especially noted for their expertise in singing and music.
Ganga - the holy river, Ganga, also known as the Ganges (see Ganga in the Glossary of Places).
Gathana - the formation, structure, or composition of a thing.
Gaudiya Vaisnava Acaryas - prominent teachers in the line of Lord Caitanya. Gaudiya Vaisnava Sampradaya - the school of Vaisnavism following in the line of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.
Gauna - literally means “that which possesses qualities” or “that which is secondary.” Relates to a quality, having qualities; connected to the three gunas (qualities of material nature); subordinate, secondary, unessential.
Gaurabda - a year in the era beginning from the appearance of Sri Gauranga Mahaprabhu (corresponding to 1486 AD).
Gaura-lila - the divine pastimes of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, who is identical to Sri Krsna.
Gaura-Nama-Rasa - transcendental taste which comes from chanting the holy name of Lord Gaura.
Gayatri-mantra - a sacred mantra repeated by brahmanas at the three junctures of the day. The gayatri mantra is personified as a goddess, the wife of Brahma and mother of the four Vedas (see diksa-mantra).
Ghata - a landing-stage (as on the bank of a river, pond, and so on).
Ghata-akasa - is the space that one can see in a pot. (Maha-akasa is the great unlimited sky).
Godruma - one of the nine divisions of Navadvipa (see Glossary of Places).
Gopas - the cowherd boys who serve Krsna in the mood of intimate friendship. This may also refer to the elderly gopas headed by Nanda Maharaja who serve Krsna in the mood of parental affection.
Gopis - the young cowherd maidens of Vraja headed by Srimati Radhika who serve Krsna in the mood of amorous love. This may also refer to the elderly gopis headed by mother Yasoda who serve Krsna in the mood of parental affection.
Go-sala - shelter for the cows.
Gosvami - one who is the master of his senses; a title for those in the renounced order of life. This often refers to the renowned followers of Caitanya Mahaprabhu who adopted the lifestyle of mendicants. Descendants of the relatives of such Gosvamis or of their sevaites often adopt this title merely on the basis of birth. In this way, the title Gosvami has evolved into use as a surname. Leading temple administrators are also sometimes referred to as Gosvamis.
Grhastha - the word stha means “to reside.” The word grha means “house,” and also refers to the family members who inhabit a house; as a verb, it means “to grasp, take on, or accept.” The second asrama or stage of life in the varnasrama system; family life.
Grhastha-tyagi - one who has renounced household life.
Gulli-sansa - a game played with a bat and stick.
Guna - (1) in relationship to Krsna this refers to His transcendental qualities which are heard, described, and meditated upon by bhaktas as part of the practice of sadhana-bhakti. (2) qualities of objects such as hardness and softness. (3) qualities in general such as compassion, tolerance, and mercy. (4) the three ropes (binding qualities) known as - sattva (goodness), rajas (passion), and tamas (ignorance).
Gunavatara - the primary presiding deities of the tri-gunas (three gunas), Visnu, Brahma and Siva presiding over the qualities of sattva, rajas, and tamas respectively.

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Hamsa - the third stage of sannyasa, as mentioned in Srimad- Bhagavatam (3.12.43). In his commentary on this sloka, Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura defines an ascetic in the hamsa stage as jnana-abhyasa-nistha, one established in the cultivation of transcendental knowledge.
Hari - a name for Sri Krsna (see Glossary of Names).
Hari-katha - narrations of the holy name, form, qualities, and pastimes of Sri Hari.
Hari-nama - the chanting of the holy names of the Lord. Unless accompanied by the word sankirtana, it usually refers to the practice of chanting the Hare Krsna maha-mantra to oneself on a strand of tulasi beads.
Hari-vasara - the day of Lord Hari; this refers especially to Ekadasi; it also refers to other holy days such as Janmastami and Ramanavami (check this Glossary for explanation of these terms).
Havisya - rice dried in the sun, cooked with water and mixed with ghee .
Heya - undesirable; fit to be given up; contemptible, base, vile.
Hladini - this refers to svarupa-sakti which is predominated by hladini (see svarupa-sakti). Hladini is the potency which relates to the ananda, or bliss, aspect of the Supreme Lord. Although the Supreme Lord is the embodiment of all pleasure, hladini is that potency by which He relishes transcendental bliss and causes others to taste bliss. When visuddha-sattva is predominated by hladini, it is known as guhya-vidya, or confidential knowledge. This guhya-vidya has two faculties: bhakti and that which bestows bhakti. It is by these two agencies that bhakti, which consists of priti (prema), is manifest. Bhakti which is of the nature of priti is itself a special feature of guhya-vidya.